Sugar Grove man puts up crosses in Boston

SUGAR GROVE – Greg Zanis said he drove 2,000 miles in less than two days to put up three crosses at the bombing site in Boston where three people were killed this week.

Zanis, a Sugar Grove Township resident, has become known for placing crosses in crisis situations as a way of remembering those who have died. He often travels long distances to do so.

“We did the same thing we did at Newtown, [Conn.], where we put up 26 crosses,” Zanis said.

Newtown was the site of a school shooting in December that left 26 people dead, including 20 children.

“I got 18 calls from people in Massachusetts who wanted me to do this,” Zanis said. “It was a horrific scene. There was not a piece of glass anywhere because the glass was blown into the buildings. The National Guard took me around the yellow tape. There were so many police officers around.”

Zanis said as soon as he got back, he received a call requesting him to return and put up a cross for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology officer who was killed in a shootout early Friday with the suspected bombers.